How Lambda Chi Alpha was started

Timeline - National Fraternity

1909 On November 2, Warren A. Cole and two other law students found Alpha Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha at Boston University in Massachusetts. The date is selected as the first formal step in Lambda Chi Alpha, although Cole says it is of little significance and could be moved by a year or two either way.
1912 Lambda Chi Alpha becomes a national fraternity with the installation of the University of Massachusetts, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University, Brown University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology chapters.
1913 The Second General Assembly proclaims the ideals of Lambda Chi Alpha by adopting the Fraternity’s secret mottoes and approving Jack Mason’s revisions to the Initiation Ritual, coat of arms, and badge. The date of the General Assembly, March 22, 1913, and its achievements are celebrated annually as Founders’ Day.
1914 Lambda Chi Alpha’s first magazine, the #330066, #006633 and Gold, is published. Lambda Chi Alpha joins the National Interfraternity Conference.
1915 Zeta Zephyr is the first chapter publication, published by Zeta at Penn State.
1916 First inter-chapter meeting (now Leadership Conclave) is held in Indianapolis.
1917 Twenty-five hundred Lambda Chis (90 percent of the membership) are in military service during World War I.
1920 The central office opened at Kingston, Pennsylvania, and moved to Indianapolis in December; becoming the first fraternity or sorority to locate its central office in Indianapolis. First full-time salaried administrative secretary, Bruce McIntosh, is hired. Founding Father Warren A. Cole resigns his membership after accusations of financial irregularities and alteration of official documents from some members of the Grand High Zeta.
1924 The first Grand Chapter of Theta Kappa Nu. Delegates from 11 local societies convene at Springfield, Missouri, and form Theta Kappa Nu Fraternity. First full-time traveling secretary, J. Fred Speer, is employed to devote his efforts to chapter visitation. Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity becomes incorporated. Theta Kappa Nu announces its first graduate scholarship.
1926 The first edition of The Paedagogus, the official manual of fraternity education, is published.
1927 Lambda Chi Alpha becomes an international fraternity with the installation of Epsilon-Epsilon at the University of Toronto.
1928 The practice of hazing is roundly condemned by Lambda Chi Alpha at an NIC meeting.
1932 The #330066, #006633 and Gold changes its name to the Cross & Crescent. Bruce H. McIntosh becomes chairman of the Fraternity Executives Association. A central figure in its founding, he is the only one to have served two terms as its head.
1935 The first members are inducted into the Order of Merit, awarded to members who serve and outstanding, lengthy, and dedicated service to the Fraternity at the chapter level.
1939 The merger of Theta Kappa Nu and Lambda Chi Alpha increases the chapter roll from 77 to 105 and the membership from 20,000 to 27,000; the largest merger in fraternity history.
1940 Lambda Chi Alpha purchases its first headquarters building, located in Indianapolis.
1943 Leroy Wilson, former Grand Archon of Theta Kappa Nu, becomes the first of four Lambda Chis to head the National Interfraternity Conference.
1944 An estimated 13,000 members serve in the armed forces during World War II; more than 400 die. Forty-nine of the 129 chapters are inactive due to military service.
1946 John E. Mason Memorial Foundation (now the Lambda Chi Alpha Educational Foundation, Inc.) is created from his donation upon his death.
1949 The first Management Training Seminar (now Leadership Seminar) is held at Wittenberg College in Springfield, Ohio.
1952 The position of chapter services secretary (now director of chapter services) is created. The Annual Loyalty Fund campaign is established as a means for alumni to financially support the Fraternity beyond their college days.
1957 Founding Father Warren A. Cole is reinstated as a member in good standing.
1959 Fiftieth anniversary rededication ceremonies are held.
1960 The first members are inducted into the Order of Achievement and Order of Interfraternity Service.
1961 Upsilon at Louisiana State University becomes the first chapter to initiate 1,000 members.
1967 Lambda Chi Alpha initiates its 100,000th member, the fifth fraternity to do so.
1968 George W. Spasyk becomes executive vice president soon after Duke Flad’s death.
1969 The concept of fraternity education is proposed to replace pledge education. The first Regional High Pi Conference (now Alumni Leadership Conference) is held.
1970 The first meeting of the Student Advisory Committee is held, and the first undergraduate member, Brad Peabody, is elected to the Grand High Zeta. Linn C. Lightner retires after 50 years of service as editor of the Cross & Crescent, the longest editorship in fraternity history. The first Duke Flad outstanding undergraduate award is presented to Fred Suggs.
1972 The term “associate member� replaces the term “pledge� in Lambda Chi Alpha.
1973 The first Grand High Alpha award for chapter excellence and the Phoenix award for outstanding improvement are presented.
1974 The International Headquarters building opens in northwest Indianapolis at 8741 Founders Road, Indianapolis, Indiana 46268. Bruce H. McIntosh 1983 The Standards for Chapter Excellence program is introduced at the Leadership Seminar at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
1984 Numerous Founders’ Day and other commemorative events are conducted in celebration of Lambda Chi Alpha’s 75th anniversary.
1985 The first McIntosh awards are presented to the chapters that successfully implement the Standards for Chapter Excellence program.
1988 A Resolution on Alcoholic Beverages is adopted by the 42nd General Assembly, prohibiting chapters from purchasing or providing alcohol.
1990 George W. Spasyk retires as an executive vice president after 40 years of service on the Administrative Staff. The position of High Iota (risk manager) is adopted by the 43rd General Assembly, the first fraternity to create a risk management office in every chapter. The 2.25 minimum grade point average is adopted by the 43rd General Assembly.
1991 Lambda Chi Alpha initiates its 200,000th member, the third fraternity to do so.
1993 Omega at Auburn University becomes the first chapter to initiate 2,000 members. Lambda Chi Alpha sponsors the inaugural North American Food Drive, the largest single-day fraternity philanthropic project, and raises more than 256,000 pounds of food for the hungry.
The Lambda Chi Alpha Educational Foundation of Canada is created.
1994 The regional leadership director position is created, adding five new staff members dedicated to chapter and alumni services.
1995 In July, the General Fraternity is presented the Summit Award from the American Society of Association Executives for its 1994 Brothers Feeding Others North American Food Drive efforts; the first fraternity to ever receive this honor. The totals of the third annual North American Food Drive exceed 550,000 pounds of food, making it the largest service event of any student organization.

Unlike most fraternities, however, Lambda Chi Alpha began as a dream of one man, Warren Allen Cole. He was born in Swansea, Massachusetts, and attended high school at Taunton and Fall River. While in high school, he was involved with a preparatory fraternity. He entered Brown University for a few weeks, but eventually matriculated to Boston University's Law School in the fall of 1909.
One of his earliest ventures of starting a fraternity took place at a meeting of his first cousin and a more distant relative on November 2, 1909. The date was later selected as the first formal step in Lambda Chi Alpha, but in later years, Cole said that the date had little significance.
He was a young man of pleasing personality, ordinary means, limited experience, and no unusual talents except a dogged determination to found an international college fraternity. It is hard to believe that all alone he deliberately set out to challenge the prestigious fraternity world which already boasted 46 strong, well-established organizations. His unquestioning faith in himself and unwavering belief in his mission are the only explanations for his remarkable achievement.

Cole first made some unsuccessful attempts at starting a fraternity, about which we know little more than names: "The Lodge," "Tombs," "Lambda Pi," then it was Lambda Chi Alpha- "Loyal Collegiate Associates," until a new meaning was adopted in 1913.

Cole boldly approached many local groups at colleges and universities throughout the Northeast in hopes of finding others willing to join his new fraternity. Before the acquisition of Lambda Chi Alpha's first functioning chapter, Cole had corresponded with or visited 117 institutions.

Early in 1912, Warren Cole, as was his custom in attempting to establish a chapter at a school, wrote to a student at Massachusetts Agricultural College (MAC) in Amherst (now the University of Massachusetts) asking the names of the Greek-letter fraternities on campus and the names of at least two "good, non-fraternity men." Herbert E. Cole responded with the names of six Greek-letter groups and two names, including that of Lewis Drury. Warren Cole wrote to Drury asking if he was interested in forming a Greek-letter society. Apparently Drury was quite interested, as he had his agronomy professor write a letter of recommendation to Warren Cole.

The MAC petition was duly submitted and quickly approved-after all, it was Cole's first success in attracting a group after more than one-hundred futile efforts. Lambda Chi Alpha's first established chapter, Gamma Zeta, was born.

Local Chapter history

After the First World War, economic conditions were harsh. As a result, it was common practice for a group of men to form a dining club to help reduce food costs. A man named Byron Bowers formed one such club here in 1919. Russell R. Fling, Red Shoemaker, and Al Pinson were among the membership. The club met in a house located on East 15th Avenue. Later, a club known as the Epicurean Club was formed from the dining club.

In 1921 under the direction of Russell R. Fling, twenty-five of the men from the dining club formed a local fraternity known as Pi Sigma Alpha. In 1923, Al Pinson headed a movement to integrate the local chapter in the Lambda Chi Alpha International Fraternity. On May 26th, 1923 the Denison University chapter, under the supervision of Bruce H. Mcintosh, installed Gamma-Tau Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha.

The new chapter was based on the following principles:
1. Scholarship, including established study hours.
2. All bills were to be paid in advanced.

Our Chapter’s first house was located on 60 East Lane Ave. In 1925 Red Shoemaker began the search for a new house. The site at 73 East 15th Ave. was finally decided upon and purchased. The first house on this site was replaced by the one you still see today. Designed by Russell R. Fling, the house was completed in 1954. The Chapter currently resides in this house.